" There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)
* “A few new ways” to run applications in the background — multitasking.
* Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.
* The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”
* The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications. "
They get their information from Boy Genius Report and are brave enough to go with the idea that these are actual facts about the upcoming update. Check out the story here. There's even a little more speculation on the rumoured Apple tablet as well to boot. An OS update to the iPhone would also mean the release of a new iPhone model entirely, if Apple is to follow it's old patterns.
Other things said about the upcoming iPhone's features include a touch-sensitive casing for the device (in addition to the touch responsive screen), similarly to Apple's Magic Mouse. More on that here.
Personal analysis:
To me it sounds funny that Apple's new iPhone OS would make the phone more like a "full fledged computer", as for me the iPhone has always served as a more mass-market kind of device. People still have laptops at home for browsing the web and surfing on the mobile is still only the second or third device of choice for this kind of activity.
Also, I can't help but raise a tempting question about "who's copying who", when the situation has been for so long, that Apple sets the trend and pretty much everything to do with mobile devices and their software and OS's. Now Apple's coming out with something that will put users "ahead in the smartphone market". This coming from the company that added copy&paste only a year ago to their phones. Although I must keep in mind, that it is unclear "who" exactly is saying that "we" all are excited in this piece of news, as that isn't cited anywhere.
For me, this is a response to the DROID, WinMo devices and of course, the Nokia N900. The plot thickens.
© Christopher Peake 2010
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